Barnard Launches New Website

January 27, 2011

After several years of research, preparation, and hard work, and many months of testing and development, the College will now have a fresh and dynamic online presence.

An upgrade to the Barnard website had long been overdue. While the new look of the website alone is exciting, there is also a functional purpose of the redesign – we will now have a centralized content management system (CMS) that will make publishing, sharing, and finding information much easier and more efficient. We believe that you’ll find that the revamped site offers a number of significant improvements, including a simpler and more logical organization, bold and distinctive messaging, and vastly improved functionality, including increased access to multimedia and social media tools. Most importantly, the complete overhaul has allowed us to create a website that is sustainable, scalable and adaptable, which will serve us well for a good number of years to come.

A project of this scale does not happen without the help and input of many people. Our talented electronic communications team, led by Scott DiPerna, has spent the past year and a half in constant consultation with senior leadership, faculty, students and staff, carefully itemizing and prioritizing the needs and expectations of the community. We met with all 40+ academic departments and 30+ administrative departments, and convened two campus-wide committees at various stages in the process. Throughout the development process, we received terrific feedback in response to emails and via the blog that was maintained to keep the community apprised of our progress. We thank all of you who contributed your valuable insight, support and encouragement.

Mighty congratulations are in order for our electronic communications team – Scott DiPerna, Laura Downs-Buma, Sarah Cohen, and Martina Szarek. The project also could not have been completed without the expertise and guidance of Carol Katzman, Rodolfo Nunez, and Josh Aylor in BCIT; Anja Santiago in the Office of the Provost; David Hopson and the rest of the Communications staff; and President Spar, the Board of Trustees, and President’s Council. Finally, a special note of thanks is deserved by our tireless and dedicated student workers who helped build hundreds of pages on the new site – Adrienne Hezghia ’12, Ananta Pandey ’14, Amy Ho ’12, and Colleen McKenzie ’12.

It is important to note that the launch on Monday represents only the beginning of the redevelopment of our website. We are continuing to make improvements and changes on a daily basis, and some aspects of the website continue to be works-in-progress. In the coming months, we will also be turning to the next phase, and considering which new functionalities and features we may want to add in the future. For this reason, we ask not only for your continued patience, but for your input as well.

In the footer of the website, you will find a link to a feedback form (called “Site Feedback”) where we welcome your comments - both critical and complimentary. You may also email questions and concerns to ecomm@barnard.edu.

Again, thanks for your participation and attention to this project. Please spend some time exploring the website and discovering what’s new. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts and concerns.